Year 6 Leavers service – Endings and Beginnings
The last three weeks have been a time of “firsts” for me as I settle into my new role here at Hampstead Parish Church. One such occasion was this week’s Leavers’ Service for Year 6 at Hampstead Parochial School.
It was wonderful to be able to welcome children, parents, and staff into church in person, along with colleagues from St John’s Downshire Hill. The service was livestreamed on Facebook for those who couldn’t be there.
There was a mix of music (some wonderful violin playing from several children plus hymns such as Be Bold, Be Strong and One More Step Along the World I Go), readings from scripture, poems written by staff and many memories read out by children themselves.
What struck me as the children were reading out their recollections of their time at school was just how powerful and important these years have been for them. The impact that their teachers have had (maths lessons involving M&Ms came up more than once) and the bonds of friendship that have been formed, shone through in all that they had to say.
The service was also an opportunity to say goodbye to a number of departing staff, among them headteacher Allan McLean. The transformative role he has played in the school and the love in which he is held was clear to see – not least in the incredible video tribute featuring staff, parents and children singing an appropriately reworded version of David Bowie’s Starman!
What was also powerful was the way in which the service marked both an end and a beginning. This is a key point in the lives of these children as they move on from HPS, with all the emotions that entails, to an exciting new future and all the possibilities that contains.
It was clear that the link between our church and the school was threaded through the experience these children have had and our core Christian values were evident throughout the service. One of the great privileges of church life is to walk alongside people at significant points in their lives and the service was definitely one such moment.
For all of us this year has been one of adjusting to changes, coping with difficulty, and adapting to new ways of doing things. It was obvious that our school pupils and staff have navigated through all of this with ingenuity, patience, and love.
As our children move on to pastures new, and as we all step into what the next few months hold, what better refrain could there be than the opening hymn at our leavers’ service: “Be bold, be strong, for the Lord your God is with you.”